Oolite Bulletins

Redspear wrote:

Haven't caught up with all of this yet but I love the cereal box start

Hehe! Thanks Redspear! I originally thought he would win it at a casino, but what do I know!? };]

"Four ships off the starboard bow Captain. Idents report clean."

"Yup, I see 'em Aria. Keep an eye on 'em." We had learned. A ship that was "clean" was just someone who hadn't committed a crime... Yet.

"Locate the station yet Aria?"

"Yes Captain. I have updated the compass."

"Okay then, let's hit the turbos and get there." I hit the injectors and watched the 4 yellow blips slowly slide off the rear of the scanner.

Things had changed since that first encounter. I had spent many hours looking at that holophoto the old man had given me, and I had thought long and hard about what he had said. Aria and I still didn't go looking for fights, but we didn't run unless we had to. I had now collected fifteen confirmed bounties, and Aria had a new military grade laser mounted up front.

We had just docked at Biarge to refuel. "Captain, there is a passenger contract available here, that we may be able to take." Announced Aria. And so, I met with one, Oneldo A'zaabcedi, to talk over the details. If humans descended from primates, then Mr. A'zaabcedi ancestors must have been toads. He was large and red. He also seemed a bit nervous and jumpy... No pun intended.

"I goes to Quarave. You departs immediately, yes?" He asked in a low, gravely, garbly, deep voice.

"Just as soon as we are refueled, we can leave."

"You cabins has a water showers yes?"

"Wat..? Oh um, yes, all cabins have their own bathrooms and showers."

"I gives you 1050 credits now. 3025 credits when arrives safely, yes?"

Ah... Time to haggle! Let's see, that's 1050 credits, plus 3025 credits. That equals 4075 credits... 4075 CREDITS! Combined with what I already had, I would be able to get Aria a second military laser!

"Umm... Ya, that's fine." Okay, so I need some practice with the whole haggling bit... Mr. A'zaabcedi handed me the initial payment, and I shoved it in my pocket. I held out my hand to shake on the deal, but he was already halfway up the loading ramp, his bag in hand. I jogged to catch up, and led him the rest of the way to his room. "At the end of the hall is the common area, where you can..." He closed the door in my face.

"Hunh... Ya, okay... Umm, Aria, are we re-fueled yet?"

Once back on deck, I had Aria plot the fastest course to Quarave, while I maneuvered the ship out of the station. Once were were clear, I hit the ship-wide button. "Attention all passengers, um, we are about to enter witchspace so um, please secure yourselves and your bags, and stuff. Once we are underway, you can walk around and... stuff." Okay, I would work on that later.

After we had entered the witchspace portal, I wandered back to the passengers common area, and waited to see if our guest would emerge. He didn't. Not once during the entire trip... Aria and I made a bee-line for Quarave, and used the fuel stations whenever we could, to avoid having to travel all the way in to the station. Finally, we arrived.

"Attention all passengers, we are about to exit witchspace and arrive at Quarave. Please return to your rooms, and secure yourselves, and your personal items, until we have successfully docked at the station. Thank you for flying Aria to the Stars!" Not bad hunh? I'd had plenty of time to practice, what with Mr. Toad being all antisocial. Gee, hope he didn't croak in there, pun intended. We exited witchspace.

"Three ships off the port bow Captain. Idents report clean."

"Roger that Aria, keep an e..."

"We have been waiting for you Aria to the Stars!" Said a voice over the comms channel. The three yellow blips turned red.

Ah crap.

They were still near the outer edge of my scanner as I swung the ship toward them. See, here's the thing. If you're gonna try to sucker punch someone, don't advertise the fact before you are even in range. Especially if their arms are longer than yours. I centered the cross-hairs on the first twinkling dot I saw, and opened up that forward military laser. My laser temp gauge began to climb, and when it reached about the halfway point... boom.

One down, two to go.

By this time, I was starting to see a few streaks of light flashing past me. Lousy shots. Next target was a Wraith. I had heard talk of these guys, and they can be bad news. I ran the mil. into the red.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Rang the outer hull. The Wraith was now in range, and was beating me like a gong. I swung Aria around and showed him her pretty behind, then I pulled a "skunk" and opened up with the rear beam laser. I almost red-lined that one when I saw the explosion.

Two down, one to go. Ship number three was an old Cobra Mark One. He managed to slap Aria on the butt once or twice as I swung her around again. The front military laser had cooled off a bit by now, so I lit it up again.

The Cobra lit up as well... Eighteen.

"Incoming missile detected Captain." Said Aria, as calmly as ever. I hit the turbos, and swung Aria's nose around to point at the station. We left the missile behind.

"We have been waiting for you Aria to the Stars!" "We..." Who? And how could they have known we were coming here? I had some questions for Mr. Toad!

"You good pilot. Here 4000 credits." Said Mr. A'zaabcedi as Aria lowered the bay door. Waiting at the bottom, were four more creatures, all dressed in identical black business suits. Before I could articulate any of my deep an probing questions, the four suits had surrounded Mr. A'zaabcedi, and all of them hurried off without a single backward glance. Leaving me to stand there, with my jaw swinging in the breeze.

Humph, they must have been his "toadies". Okay, I'll stop now.

"Captain, there is a passenger contract available here, that we may be able to take." Announced Aria.

Sigh.

Mr. Jonah Black
Gratsky District
Sector 4-16
Lave

Dear Pa,

I'm sorry for not getting in touch with you sooner, but things have been a bit hectic now that I am a bona fide spacer. But I am okay, and things is goin' real good. So good in fact, that I am sendin' you 250 credits on the enclosed cred-chip. That should put both you and the farm in real good shape. Now you can hire out and get someone to clear that jungle on section 12.

I wish I could tell you everything that's happened pa, but there has just been so much. I've met some real nice people. One of them you may have already met. She said she would find you and introduce herself. Her name's Terra, and if she hasn't showed up yet, then I am enclosing a picture of her, so you will know what she looks like. And so's you don't shoot her thinkin' she's after your moonshine still! Ha ha! She's real pretty pa, as you can see in the picture, and I like her a lot, so you be nice to her now, you hear?

There's been others too pa. A real nice old feller, that reminded me of lot of you, helped me out a little while back. I never even found out his name though. Course, there have been some that wasn't so nice. I've even had to fight off a couple of pirates, but don't worry, it wasn't no big deal. Aria gets me out of any trouble I get into. Oh! Aria is my ship pa! Actually, I named the ship Aria to the Stars! Ain't that pretty? But Aria is actually the `artificial intelligence` that runs the ship, but she's more than that pa, she's my friend too.

I guess I better go for now pa. I got a passenger and a load of computer parts to deliver, the usual boring stuff! I hope you're doin' good too, I am goin' to try and make my way back toward Lave, and if I can, I will stop in and see you!

Love ya pa, and say hi to Terra for me if you see her! Take care.

Captain Mo
Morgan

I'm sure I've seen her on the cover of 'Mens Illustrated Monthly'

As for Mr. A'zaabcedi. Bet your glad you didn't tell him to hop it........

Good Stuff

BBD

That's quite a nice LBD she has on..

Mind you, I coulda swore you said Terra's hair was "golden blond", and in the pic it looks more like auburn/red.. NOT that I'm complaining.. I like redheads!

Bangbangduck wrote:

As for Mr. A'zaabcedi. Bet your glad you didn't tell him to hop it.......
BBD

No. When you're in the taxiing business, you have to take your customers as they are -- warts and all.

Diziet Sma wrote:

That's quite a nice LBD she has on..

Mind you, I coulda swore you said Terra's hair was "golden blond", and in the pic it looks more like auburn/red.. NOT that I'm complaining.. I like redheads!

She has hair?.........

Bangbangduck wrote:

She has hair?.........

Heh.. I'm a "whole package" kind of guy.. and yes, that includes what's between their ears..

She has ears?.......

I'm joshing.. I think.... Ah right it's just been confirmed. The Significant other says I am also 'a whole package type'.. Or else

BBD Living dangerously

Diziet Sma wrote:

That's quite a nice LBD she has on..

Mind you, I coulda swore you said Terra's hair was "golden blond", and in the pic it looks more like auburn/red.. NOT that I'm complaining.. I like redheads!

I blame it on the bad lighting! }:]

Actually, I could have fixed it, but my poor old laptop is killing me! That render took over 30 min, and was just one of about 6 I had to make to set up the scene. I also wanted to put a texture on the floor, add more "stuff" around etc... If I am ever able to afford a new computer... };] But at $7.25 an hour and 25 hours a week, don't hold your breath.

Bangbangduck wrote:

She has ears?.......

Miss Ve Eritra was getting married on Quazidi. Not that I really cared, mind you, as I didn't even know Miss Eritra personally. However, when she offered to pay 3010 credits if I could get here there on time, I suddenly found myself caring very much indeed! And after all, how much trouble could a bride to be... umm... be?

Not very much at all actually. She was a pleasant, if some what chatty, little thing, and once I got used to the blue feathers that covered her from head to foot, we spent many fine hours in the common room playing cards and such. Her fiance paid me a nice little bonus as well, once we arrived at the station. I had made a couple of good trades on the way here, and hadn't been attacked by pirates, except for that one time. Life was good, and I was in a fine mood!

"Captain, I am in need of maintenance." Aria informed me.

I had been slouching on the command couch, looking over the station manifest, but now, I sat up fast. "Why Aria, what wrong? Is it serious?"

"No Captain, simply routine maintenance. However, unless addressed immediately, it could cause serious problems in the near future."

"Oh... Well, let me go talk to the stations engineers an..."

"I would advise against that Captain. Quazidi is only a tech level 9 planet, and as such, any repairs made to my systems, might be temporary at best."

"Oh... 'Ya get what you pay for', is what you're telling me hunh? Well, that makes sense I guess, and I don't want to take any chances with you Aria! What other planets are close by?"

Aria pulled up the star charts on the main vid-screen. "Hey, look there Aria! That planet Aona ain't more than spitting distance from us, and it's a tech level 13 station!"

"Yes Captain. It should prove quite sufficient for my needs."

"All right then, let's saddle up and hop over there." There was nothing more for us to do at Quazidi, so I requested a launch window from docking control, while Aria got our systems ready. Then off we went. We arrived at Aona a few hours later.

"IT GONNA COST HOW MUCH!?!?!"

"I'm sorry Comman..."

"CAPTAIN!"

"Err..Captain. But your ship is an extremely advanced vessel, and requires special filters, hoses, as well as the available software upgrades for your ships A.I.. Then there is the usual de-ionization and th..."

"OKAY! Okay... enough already. I give up. But 2500 credits?! Sheesh!"

I could cover the cost. We had made almost twice that much between our last passenger, and the trades we had made during the trip, but still... It hurt! And now, I was stuck here until Aria's maintenance was done. I wandered around the dock, watching the ships come and go for a while. Then wandered over to the stations sales area. I wasn't looking to trade in Aria or anything, but hey, a guy can just look around right? They had the usual selection, a couple Asps, a Cobra or three, even an ancient Anaconda. Boy was that thing a monster! Then I came to the end of the line and stared. The little sign read "D.T.T War Lance". My heart was beating hard, and I felt the same way I did when I saw Aria for the first time. As a matter of fact, it looked more than a little bit like Aria, bein' made by the same company and all. Actually, it looked as if someone had taken Arias' hull, removed the engines, then strapped 2 absolutely enormous rockets to the sides! Why, it even had a naked girl painted on the side, wearing nothing but a war bonnet and riding on top of a spear! Wow! I looked for the price.

"500,000 cred..." I choked out-loud.

"Ya, she's pretty expensive, but she would be totally worth it!" Said a voice behind me. I turned to look, then I looked down. A tousle of pure white hair, cut pixie short, with a pair of light grey eyes was lookin' back up at me. She couldn't have stood more than five feet tall, even in her untied, and one size too big, work boots. She had a smear of dirt on her cheek, and a dab of grease on her nose. Matter of fact, there wasn't an inch of skin showing that wasn't covered in some kind of dirt or other. And that means a lot of dirt, 'cuz she weren't wearin' a whole lot to begin with. Up from them old work boots, was a tiny pair of raggedy denim cut-offs, at least what was left of 'em. They were bein' accessorized by an old tool belt, with an assortment of mechanics tools and other odds and ends. North from there was nothin' more than the top part of a bikini bathin' suit... A mighty small one at that.

"I saw you come in. You're flyin' that Snake Charmer ain'cha?" She asked, while at the same time, cracking the wad of gum she was vigorously chewing.

"Ya, I sure did." I said proudly. "Her names Aria. Aria to the Stars."

CRACK! "Ooh! That's pretty!" SNAP! "And they're good ships too. Real quality work, not like some of these old rust buckets, bein' held together with monowire and molecutape." POP! She gave a disdainful glance around the dock.

I couldn't help but grin. "You seem to know a lot about these ships."

"I should. I've fixed half of them." POP!

"YOU fixed them?" I asked skeptically.

"You better believe it buddy! I'm the best ship mechanic on this station!" Her little chin lifted a notch or two, as if daring me to dispute her claim.

I grinned. "How old are you?" I asked, bendin' over a bit to look her strait in the eye.

"...Twenty one." The chin dropped half a notch. I continued to stare into her eyes.

"...Eighteen." I didn't blink.

"FINE! I'm seventeen, but my birthday is next month, and then I will be eighteen! I can prove it!" The chin popped back up.

She looked more like sixteen, at least her face did. But she met my stare now, and that little chin of hers was standing its' ground, and holding firm. "Okay. I believe you."

"Okay... Umm... How old are you" She asked, giving me a long once-over of her own.

"Twenty two." I said, meeting her eyes once again.

"Twenty two! And you have your own ship?! What are you, some kind of spoiled, rich kid? Your daddy buy it for you?" She asked with a sneer. I laughed, and proceeded to tell her the whole story, of how pa won the cereal contest, and then the accident, and how I finally ended up with Aria. She listened in rapt fascination. "Gosh, that's some kind of luck!" She sighed at the end.

"The best I ever ha..."

"HEY YOU! Get outta here you little dock rat!" Said a dock engineer, who was hurrying over to us. "I'm sorry Captain Morgan. She's not supposed to be hanging around here, bother our customers..."

"She wasn't bothering me, we were having a pleasant conversation until you interrupted us." I said, as I stepped in front of the girl. Who, I noticed from the corner of my eye, hadn't backed down one inch. But had, in fact, pulled a rather mean looking hammer from her belt, and was hefting it in her tiny hand. Her chin at full mast!

"He's just mad because I'm a better mechanic than he is, and all the pilots know it!"

"Listen here you little..."

I put one hand against the engineer's chest, and "encouraged" him to take a step back. The other arm was trying to keep little Miss Spitfire from bringing her hammer into the fray.

"Now hold on here folks. Hold on. I assume you are here for a reason other than chasing off this little girl?" I said, looking pointedly at the mechanic. That remark earned me a dirty look from Spitfire. Who, to her credit, kept her mouth shut.

"Umm... yes sir. Sorry Com... Captain. You see sir, while we were carrying out the maintenance on your ship, we found another problem. It's your water recycling system." Said Mr. Mechanic, who was still keeping a wary eye in Spitfire.

I have a water recycling system...? "Okay, what's wrong with it?"

"We need to replace two high pressure hoses, and we are going to need to order a new filter for it as well."

"And how much is that going to cost me?"

"Well Captain, that filter has to be special made, then flown up from the planet. And those hoses are hard to come by as well. We can do it for six hundred credi..."

"Thieves! You're all a bunch of stupid, ignorant, thieves!" Ranted Spitfire, as I grabbed her by her tool belt, and pulled her back. I also managed to snag her hammer as it swished past my head, on route toward the mechanics.

"Calm down there girl! Now what exactly has got your feathers in a fluff?" I glanced around quick to make sure I hadn't offended anyone with the feather remark.

"I can fix that recycling system for less than fifty five credits! The high pressure hoses from a Cobra Mark Three will fit your system just fine, if you trim an inch or two off them. And the filter from a Boa will work better than the original, if you cut it in half, and that gives you a spare to boot!" We locked eyes for a slow four count, then I looked at the mechanic.

"Is what she says, true?" I asked.

"Well I... Umm... I'm not sure Captain, but..."

"Let the water thing go for now." I said.

"But Captain I..."

"I said, let it go for now." I repeated, giving Mr. Engineer a look.

Mr. Engineer pulled himself up straight and shot an evil glare at Spitfire. "As you wish Captain, but we won't be held responsible fo..."

"Yes, yes, I take full responsibility for the water thingy. Was there anything else you needed?" I asked.

"No sir. I guess... I guess I will get back to work." With a parting glare, Mr. Engineer stomped back toward the work area.

"You sure you can fix those hoses and stuff?" I asked Spitfire, after releasing her belt from my grasp.

"Of course!" She said with an exasperated sigh. "I can fix it for sixty credits." Her little chin was sure gettin' a work out today.

"I thought you said you could fix it for less than fifty five?"

"That was for parts, you don't expect me to work for free, do you?"

I laughed.

RUMBLE.

I glanced around trying to locate the source of the sound.

GURGLE.

Then I noticed Spitfire was blushing something fierce, and holding her arms over her stomach. "Ya, I'm hungry too. Let's go get something to eat and talk business. My treat?" Spitfire gave me a slow grin.

"There a decent burger joint, just over in the next section." She said. Her eyes grateful.

"Lead on Spitfire, lead on!"

*chuckles*

That reminds me a lot of this.

- Neelix

Diziet Sma wrote:

That's quite a nice LBD she has on..

Shes wearing it? Or is she just passing through?

Good skills, if the current work or more serious writing doesn't materialise. I see a future in erotic fiction, you can even do the illistrations.

Neelix wrote:

*chuckles*

That reminds me a lot of this.

- Neelix

Mr Neelix, shame on you! There is no indication that the good Captain Morgan is going to take adavantage of the situation and bang the engineer jailbait. We have to assume as he holds the Rank of Captain that he is some what honorable.......

Can't go knobbing his way across the stars..... Well he could. But what would the feminists say? We'd be strung up, and not by our throats if you catch my drift.

ClymAngus wrote:

Neelix wrote:

*chuckles*

That reminds me a lot of this.

Mr Neelix, shame on you! There is no indication that the good Captain Morgan is going to take adavantage of the situation and bang the engineer jailbait. We have to assume as he holds the Rank of Captain that he is some what honorable.......

Can't go knobbing his way across the stars..... Well he could. But what would the feminists say? We'd be strung up, and not by our throats if you catch my drift.

That aspect of the scene wasn't where I saw the similarity - in my comparison I was seeing Morgan more in the role of Mal rather than Bester.

Though that said I rather think that if it did go that way that Spitfire is old enough to make her own decisions, and the age gap between her and our hero is small enough to not be an issue. Also for some reason I tend to doubt she'd be considered jailbait in this Ooniverse... as it says in the extract from "Extracts from the Tre Clan Addresses on Interplanetary Life" on the web page "Spacer morality is different."

- Neelix